2004 Leontief Prize

2004 Leontief Prize
Awarded to Robert Frank and Nancy Folbre

Robert Frank, author of Luxury Fever: Money and Happiness in and Era of Excess and The Winner-Take-All Society, explained the forces that drive the economic system toward greater inequality and excessive consumption, while Nancy Folbre, author of The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values and The Ultimate Field Guide to the US Economy, discussed how to promote a more humane and cooperative economic system.

Professor Folbre is well known for her work exploring the interrelations of feminist theory and political economy. She has investigated the economics of gender and families, and the importance of non-market production in economic and social development. Her recent work explores the reasons why the work of parents, nurses, teacher others who provide “caring labor” is undervalued and underpaid, and how the situation could be remedied. She has also been a leader in promoting popular economic literacy.